How to Choose Energy Source? • Is the source possible to tap technologically? • Is it feasible to use as fuel and does technology exist for that? • Is it freely available? • Can it be stored? • Is storing economical? • Is that safe? Suitable Energy • The race is for getting more and more energy from less and less material and with less and less pollution. Wood, coal, diesel, oil, natural gases (LPG and CNG) shows that. • But if one Carbon and two Oxygen atoms yield four electron volt energy, on reacting, one uranium atom's fission yields 200 MeV which is higher by a factor of crores! • Solar energy holds promise but not efficient yet. Sun sends about 1400 Joules of energy per square centimeter per second (measured on the top of the earth's atmosphere). A little averaging for day and night consideration and accounting for the absorption by the atmosphere etc. shows that earth receives over 15 terra watts of energy per year. We produce only one- fourth of this energy at present! • Fusion will be far more convenient due to much higher availability of deuterium (hydrogen atom of atomic weight 2), but seems a distant dream as yet. What are the Non- Conventional Alternate Sources of energy? Wind Energy is promising. At present Germany, USA, Denmark lead and India is progressing well. India has potential of 45,000 MW using SW monsoon from April, July winds (20- 30 kms/ hand then NE monsoon from September. CNG as Fuel It's compressed and not liquefied, hence less dense. As a clean fuel, Compressed Natural Gas fits the bill quite well : 1. It is colour less, odour less, non- toxic, non- carcinogenic, lighter- than- air gas (the smell is because of added ethyl mercaptan). 2. Economical (half of petrol) and high octane (120 or more)
